Blending new wood with old

[JBurd]

A couple of times when restoring a deck I have had to replace one of the decking boards due to rot. Of course the stain doesn't absorb the same on the new board as it does on the weathered ones, but its not worth the time to come back and clean and stain one board. So, does anyone have any tips on how to minimize the contrast? I use Ready Seal and it remains very shiny on new wood.

My upload of the picture failed.

 

[B.A.]

My experience with different ages or replaced wood is:

1. either sell a brand new deck & sub to my carpenter friend

2. replace either just all the railings OR just all the floor boards
a. then you can stain the boards a different color than the rails and it is aesthetically pleasing. ( did a recent project where the floor boards were replaced and after they cured we did them in a cedar and the older railings in a redwood...looked really good)

you will never get wood to match with replacing a board here or there. either replace it all or wait.

 

[Doug Rucker]

A couple of times when restoring a deck I have had to replace one of the decking boards due to rot. Of course the stain doesn't absorb the same on the new board as it does on the weathered ones, but its not worth the time to come back and clean and stain one board. So, does anyone have any tips on how to minimize the contrast? I use Ready Seal and it remains very shiny on new wood.

My upload of the picture failed.

right click on the pic and and click savepicture as, then try uploading it. Your pic is prob to large. I had the same problem all the time when I first started here.

 

[bigchaz]

My experience with different ages or replaced wood is:

1. either sell a brand new deck & sub to my carpenter friend

2. replace either just all the railings OR just all the floor boards
a. then you can stain the boards a different color than the rails and it is aesthetically pleasing. ( did a recent project where the floor boards were replaced and after they cured we did them in a cedar and the older railings in a redwood...looked really good)

you will never get wood to match with replacing a board here or there. either replace it all or wait.

No offense but thats not really a great solution for the homeowner. If you have one cracked floorboard on an 10x20 deck you don't sell a whole new deck. And replacing the entire floor would be a huge waste of money. A deck could be under 5 years old but have a bad sap vein on a plank or a burn mark from some charcoal or just be a bad cut and splinter and crack at the nail holes or something. The rest of the deck might be fine.

My process:

1) Explain to the homeowner up front that the wood may look a bit different
2) Use wood that you leave out at the shop (I try to keep a few lengths of wood sitting out so it dries a little bit
3) Replace the wood before you do any cleaning
4) Hit it hard with stripper and brightener
5) light sanding
6) Use a semi-transparent stain

See the pictures attached. You can probably use eagle eyes and spot the new wood but its not too noticeable. This was done in 2009, we came back this year for reduced price and did another light coat and you can't tell at all

 

[EcoClean]

No offense but thats not really a great solution for the homeowner. If you have one cracked floorboard on an 10x20 deck you don't sell a whole new deck. And replacing the entire floor would be a huge waste of money. A deck could be under 5 years old but have a bad sap vein on a plank or a burn mark from some charcoal or just be a bad cut and splinter and crack at the nail holes or something. The rest of the deck might be fine.

My process:

1) Explain to the homeowner up front that the wood may look a bit different
2) Use wood that you leave out at the shop (I try to keep a few lengths of wood sitting out so it dries a little bit
3) Replace the wood before you do any cleaning
4) Hit it hard with stripper and brightener
5) light sanding
6) Use a semi-transparent stain

See the pictures attached. You can probably use eagle eyes and spot the new wood but its not too noticeable. This was done in 2009, we came back this year for reduced price and did another light coat and you can't tell at all

That looks amazing Charlie. Nice work!

Saved the homeowner a ton too!

 

[JBurd]

Great advice Charlie. I thought about getting several boards and letting them weather at my place so I would have them on hand. Have you had any problems with them cupping since they are relatively wide and not fastened down?

 

[bigchaz]

cupping not so much but they do warp pretty bad over the course of the span (if its a 16 footer or whatnot) they can be pretty unstraight. Normally when you put the new board on between two old boards it can be pretty tight so pounding it in helps hold it straight. Otherwise I'll use shims to keep the gap the same size on both sides as we screw them in.

The storing wood option is a good one if you are able to do it, but even if you can't just look for some drier wood when you pick it up and its still fine. Sometimes we have to replace a 2x6 and I don't buy those until I know I need it.

 

[Ron Musgraves]

Charlie your work looks Great